Elizabeth Bolton

Elizabeth (Liz) Bolton (born 1956) is a rabbi, feminist, and activist. Hired in 2013 by Reconstructionist synagogue Or Haneshamah, she is Ottawa’s first female and openly gay rabbi. In the late 1980’s, she led efforts to address the exclusion of women from the cantorate in Canada.

Early life and education Bolton was born in 1956 grew up in Chomedey, Quebec, where she attended an Orthodox congregation with her family

Career as an opera singer and cantor Bolton initially pursued a career in classical music, performing opera as well as church and choral music. She had performed as a mezzo-soprano with the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal, the Tudor Singers, and the Opera de Montreal. She also had appeared in a Vancouver Opera production of Carmen. Bolton said that they were conveying to young girls that they can be leaders and that women could develop leadership skills in ritual practice without requiring institutional validation. She also noted that as feminists they were demonstrating that involvement can bring change to Judaism.

The CBC and TV Ontario produced documentaries on her work as a singer, cantor, teacher and Jewish feminist.

While in Toronto she began considering formal studies to support her career as a cantor. Aware of her limitations in chanting from the Torah, she sought out a traditional cantor willing to teach her. However, their relationship ended when leading Conservative cantors in Toronto opposed the acceptance of women cantors.

Rabbinic career In 1989, Bolton moved to Philadelphia to attend rabbinical school at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) In 1999, she became the first full-time rabbi at Congregation Beit Tikvah in Baltimore. The legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts in 2004 prompted Bolton to stop signing marriage licences and only perform religious ceremonies. She was troubled by the discrepancy between her ability to legally marry couples and the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage.

In 2013, she was appointed the permanent rabbi of Or Haneshamah in Ottawa, becoming the city's first female and openly gay rabbi. She is a member of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and has spoken up for human rights of Jews and Palestinians as well for Israel's democracy. In 2015 she and two other Ottawa religious leaders urged the Canadian government to expedite the process of resettling Syrian refugees. When asked about Passover observance in 2024 in the midst of the Gaza war, Bolton said that Jews would likely have varied approaches due to different reactions to the conflict. She noted that Passover traditions are flexible and can address contemporary issues, and speaking as a chaplain recognized that some might feel reluctant to celebrate and that it is acceptable to observe Passover differently if needed. She was selected by The Forward in 2016 as one of America's most inspiring rabbis.